Production of durably-pleated goods



April 23, 1957 J. F. BARRYEIAL K PRODUCTION OF lDURABLY---PI..EIA'I`ED GOODS Y 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 3, 1954 April 23, 957 J., F. BARRY ETAL 2,789,751

PRODUCTION oF nURABLY-PLEATED Goonsr Filed Aug. 3, 1954 s sheets-sheet 2 luf;

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"havin" l mi April 23, 1957 J.,F. BARRY ETAL 2,789,741

PRODUCTION OF DURABLY-PLEATED GOODS Filed ug. s, 1954 y s sheetsfsheet s aired tates PRonUcrloN or DURanrY-PLnArED ooons Application August 3, 1954, Serial No. 447,635

6 Claims. (Cl. 223-2S) This invention relates to the finishing of fabrics, and is particularly concerned with a process for imparting a durable set to pleated goods, and with equipment for carrying out this process.

It has long been known that calender finishes may be rendered` durabie, that is, washable, by impregnating the fabric with an aqueous solution of an impregnant capable of fixing the calendered effect upon heating of the fabric after calendering. lt has been recognized that any finish-plain glaze, embossed, schreinered, or the likeshould be amenable to this type of process, but when it came Ato producing sharply-folded pleats, unexpected difficulties were encountered which have heretofore limited or prevented the quantity production of durably-pleated fabrics.

` The primary problem is to maintain the freshly-pleated material in flat condition'as the fabric undergoes the handling which necessarily intervenes between the formation of the pleat and the final delivery of the goods. If tension is applied to the fabric after the pleats are formed and before they have been completely fixed or cured, the pleats will open up, instead of lying flat. lf they rare cured in opened condition, no amount of ironing or press-` ing applied to the completed garment thereafter will be suflicient to prevent them from reverting to that opened condition.

Many proposals have been offered to meet this problem. One of the most common has been to roll the pleated fabric loosely on itself as it passes over the delivery apron of the pleating machine. When the roll thus formed has reached the desired size, it is cut from the web and taken to a curing oven where curing temperatures are applied. However, since it is impossible to attain a uniform cure througho-ut a roll of fabric which is inserted in a curing oven in a rolled-up condition, this process ,has not been entirely satisfactory. Moreover, this process is inherently discontinuous, since only a few yards of fabre can be wound on a single roll.

f It has not been feasible to simply draw the pleated fabric from the pleater to and through a curing oven, as is done is conventional calendering processes, because the pleats will open under the tension so applied.

Numerous other diiiiculties have arisen, and numerous expedients, none of them quite satisfactory, have been proposed.

It must be remembered that freshly-pleated goods are never in the form of a single thickness of fabric. There are at least three layers of fabric in each pleat, and in some cases, as where a ve-to-one pleat is produced, there may be ive layers of fabric. Here again it is necessary that curing temperatures applied to the outer layers should promptly be attained in the inner layer or layers of the fabric, in order to secure uniform curing throughout.

This invention aims at overcoming diiculties of the type heretofore mentioned, and utilizes for that purpose apparatus in which the fabric is carried without tension,` pn a traveling support,V the apparatusritself. being in, the

arent form of a horizontal curing oven having inlet and outlet ducts so positioned as to insure the circulation of hot gases over and through the pleated fabric while it is passing through the oven. To insure access of hot gases to all parts of the fabric, the traveling support used is in the form of an endless belt or conveyor, preferably made of wire mesh or chain link construction, so as to afford a multiplicity of openings facilitating the flow of hot gases to the web. Furthermore, it is contemplated that the hot gases shall be admitted to the curing oven under moderate pressure, and should be withdrawn from that ovenl through a closed system under somewhat reduced pressure thereby facilitating flow of hot gases not only over but also through the web of fabric being treated.

At the delivery end of the curing oven, the web of pleated material is wound up on a batcher, with an inter-` mediate web of tissue paper to keep the pleats of one convolution from fouling the pleats of the convolutionr immediately adjacent.

Turning now to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention:

Fig.. l is a longitudinal sectional elevation, along the` lineV 1-1 of Fig. 2, and showing the pleating machine itself diagrammatically;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, along the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section through the apparatus taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through a portion of the apparatus taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the initial feeding mechanism used in supplying impregnated fabric to the pleating machine. A portion of this view is diagrammatically illustrated in the left-hand end of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the gas-circulating system;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale, of the delivery end of the apparatus, showing how the web of tissue is led into the hatching-up reelvalong with the.

pleated fabric.

Considering rst Fig. l: The fabric F to be pleated is rst delivered to a supply trough 10` in which it passes below a free light-weight roller 11, which controls the rate of feed in a manner to be later described. The fabric passes from this trough over the receiving apron 12 of a standard pleating machine 13. The unit 13 is only diagrammatically illustrated, since it is a commercially available and well-known instrumentality in this art. In the pleating machine, pleating knives 14, 15 (indicated by dotted lines) are mounted. These extend cross-wise of the web, from side to side of the machine, and reciprocate in a direction parallel to the direction of travel of the web, in a manner well understood in this art. These knives form the fold of the pleat, and deliver the folded goods to the creaseforming rollers 16 and 17. Normally, at least one ofthese rollers is heated, and sometimes both of them are. The pressure of the rollers 16 and 17 exerted against the folds formed in the web by the knives 14 and 15 operates to form a crease, defining the edge of each pleat.

On leaving the nip of the rollers 16 and 17, the fabric moves onto the delivery apron 1S and slides down along this apron onto the upper run 19 of an endless belt conveyor. This endless belt conveyor is supported on an idle drum 20, mounted near the left-hand end of the machine as viewed in Fig. 1 and over a driven drum 21 mounted at the opposite end of the curing oven. The drive mechanism for the drum 21 is not illustrated in detail, since drive may be supplied by any conventional means, such as direct motor drive, belt drive, chain drive or the like. In the present drawings, a sprocket 21a is shown, which may be chaindriven from any appropriate power source.

Conventional speed control means of any suitable type (not shown) may be employed to permit synchronizing conveyor speed with the delivery rate of the pleating machine. Y

, TheA endless belt carries the now pleated fabric PF into a cu.ring oven'V generally indicated by the reference letter- This/,may conveniently be formed of sheet metal 22 applied over angle framing elements 23, 24 which define the transverse and horizontal components, respectively, of the structural framework.

Hotrainvapor, or other gas is supplied to the curing o ven by way of a supply duct 25, which is preferably centrally located, that is, above the intersection of the transverse'andlongitudinal axes of the oven. From this duct; asaddle duct extends to both sides of the curing oven;v its lateral branches being designated by the refer ence numbers 26 and 27.

Considering now the duct 27, it will be seen that this isfmounted to deliver into a horizontal manifold structure 28 ;(s'ee vFig`s; l, 2 and 3) which extends lengthwise of the apparatusalong oneside of the same. There is a counter- [part duct 29 on the opposite side of the apparatus, and between these ducts, several transverse gas delivery tubes 31,-are1mounted, above the conveyor belt 19. These transverse ducts are preferably spaced at substantially equal distances'throughout the length of the apparatus, there being eight of these in the device illustrated. These transverse ducts 31 are provided with many apertures 32 for discharging warm air or other heating medium into the space above the fabric carried on the upper run of the conveyor belt i9.

Below the upper run of the conveyor belt 19 and above the lower or return run 19R of the same, a counterpart series of gas delivery ducts 32 is positioned. These are preferably in staggered relation (considered in plan) to the upper heating ducts 31. They, like the ducts 3l, are supplied with delivery openings 32a for discharging heating. medium intov the space immediately below the conveyor belt 19. v

The curing ove'n proper is closedalong its bottom surface by means of the `sheet metal plates 22a. Olftakes 33 and 33a are' positioned in the bottom, near the right and left ends of the apparatus, for withdrawing gas from the oven and returning it to the gas heater. n

The return run 19R' of the conveyor belt passing through the curingy oven is-c'arri'ed on a series of transverse rollers34.y Therupper run 19'of this belt slides along a group of parallel rails 35 which ex-tend lengthwise of the curing oven. These afford support to the conveyor belt, in the lmid-zone 'between Vits lateral edges. The lateral edges themselves slide in longitudinal angle iro11s-36` mountedon the sidewall'framing ofthe oven. The pleated fabric (see Fig.` 3) rides on the upper surface of the top run 19 of the conveyor belt. A

Fabric carried by the conveyor belt as it passes over the crown of the driving drum 21 is led onto the shaft of a hatching-up roll 37. This is mounted on side arms 38, which are pivoted to the frame of the'curing oven at 39 so as to permit the hatching-up roll to ride up, as more and more pleated fabricis reeled up on it.

Near the base of the unit, a roll of paper tissue 40 may desirably be mounted. A web of paper'fll, led into the rst convolutions of the pleated 'fabric on the hatching up, roll 37, is drawn into the` roll continuously as it builds up.l p

This hatching-up arrangement is illustrated inf enlarged form in Fig. 7, in which the pleated fabric PF, now having permanently-set pleats 42', and still carried by the endless belt 19, passes over'the crown of the roller 21 and then reverses direction so as to wind upon the batching-up roll 37. The roll 37 vis driven solely by reason of itscontact with the conveyor belt and the fabric ,which it carries. Consequently, its peripheral speed always is: the same as the delivery rate of 'the conveyor. The web `of tissue 41is initially started by simply inserting itby hand intotherst tum,of fabric winding upon theA shaft of lthe hatching-up roll. 7

In order to keep the fabric entering the pleating machine in a smooth, even state and under minimum tension, the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 5 has proved to be useful. ln this structure, the fabric passes upwardly from the supply reel 43, under a guide roll 4S and overa driven feed roll 46, falling from that roll'into the supply trough 1t), previously referred to. Inthe bottom of the supply trough, a weight-responsive trigger 47 is pivotally mounted. This trigger'controls, by means of the'rheostat or relay 48, the supply of current to the motor 49 which drives'the supply yreel 46` by way ofthe belt 50. If tension builds up on the fabric F, the result is to lift the roller 1l, and by so doing, to permit the trigger 47 to rise and thereby activate the rheostat 48 to increase the supply of current to the motor 49 or to activate the motor if a relay is used. This results in feeding more fabric to the supply trough 10, thus allowing the roll 11 to return to its lower position, whereupon the weightresponsive trigger 47 drops, thus cutting down or interrupting thesupply of current to the driving motor 49.

Alternatively, if the fabric feeds too rapidly, it accumu' lates in the trough, and its weight will depress the trigger and interrupt the supply of current to the motor.

A convenient arrangement for handling the circulation of hot air or gasis somewhat diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 6. It lwill be seen that this arrangement contemplates a continuous circulation, in which air or other gas is drawn into the gas heater 52, along with combustible gas by way of the burner 51 and inlet ports 53. The mixture of burned gas and heated air is withdrawn by means of a circulating fan 54, and is passed through a duct 55 into the supply duct 25 previouslyreferred to, passing fromthenceto right and left-hand ducts 2'6, l27 into the manifolds 28, 29, respectively. From these the hot Agases pass through the distribution pipes 31, 32, as previously described, and into the space around the fabric. Returningv air or gas isabstracted through the downcomers 33, 33a mounted atopposite endsof'the apparatus, and owsxfrom these downcomers into a return duct 56 which connects into the-inlet 57 for'theheating unit v52. Th-

other, or to effect any desiredrelationship between them.

These are controlled by way of the temperature-responsive valves 59 and 59a, which also may be connected to shut off the supply of gas to the burner or to control the supply of current to the fan 54. The means for electing' these control operations are known in other'environments, and for this reason,'they have-been'only 'briey mentioned here.

It will be seen that the apparatus disclosed makes it possible to collect the freshly-pleated goods as -they leave the pleating machine and transport-them without tension to the curingstage. In a curing oven constructedfaccording to our invention, the pleated fabric is not onlysubjected to the sweep'of heated gases over its surface, but also is subjected to the ow of heated gases right through the fabric and* through the supporting carrier. This occurs because of the suction through the oiftake 33 and the -offtake33a. By-reason of the provision ofthe longitudinalrsupports 35, the carrier itself isf-supported in a flat plane, so that billowing ofthe fabric is prevented.

Furthermore, admission of the heated gases above the fabric in a horizontal conveyor and withdrawal of the gases below that conveyor insures that themovement of the gas itself will cooperate in holding the fabric tightly Vto the conveyor, makingcertain that eddy currents of hot gas will not themselvesltendto'op'en the pleats 0r-rutlle them.

Byre'ason of-'the'rarran'gment provided forpermittirig the take-up reel to be supported from the conveyor at the delivery end, the troublesome problem of reducing the speed of the take-up reel in order to compensate for its increasing diameter as fabric builds up on it is entirely eliminated. This also contributes to the preservation of the pleated goods in a flat state since if the pleated goods were not wound up on the take-up reel at exactly the speed of delivery of such goods from the conveyor, the fabric would not wind evenly and small creases or Wrinkles would be likely to form in the surface of the goods.

Since the speed of the pleating unit, once the apparatus has been set in operation, is relatively quite stable, it is possible to synchronize the rate of movement of the conveyor by use of conventional rheostat controls, adjustable belt drives, or other conventional speed control means, without having to constantly watch the speed relationship of the two instrumentalities. Nevertheless, it may prove desirable to inter-relate the delivery of the pleater with the speed of the conveyor by means of automatic timing devices, of which quite a number are presently available on the open market.

Novel and interesting effects may be produced by calendering the resin-impregnated fabric before pleating and final curing. Pleated effects may be imparted to schreinered and embossed fabrics in this way if desired.

We claim:

1. In a process for producing durably-pleated goods by steps involving the application to a fabric of an aqueous solution of a resinous impregnant capable of fixing the pleated effect upon heating the impregnated fabric, pleating the fabric, and heating it to set the resin, the method of insuring that the pleats will be iixed in a iiat condition which consists in passing the pleated goods from the pleating rolls over a fixed support Without tension and onto a movable foraminous support, supporting the goods thereon, and moving the support with the goods to and through an enclosed heating chamber; supplying heated gas to said chamber above the pleated goods; and withdrawing gas so supplied from said chamber from a position below the pleated goods; the rate of supply of heated gas and the rate of travel of the moving support being such as to insure that the pleated etect is fixed during travel of the goods through said chamber.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the goods, after leaving the heating chamber, are reeled up in a roll rotated at the same peripheral speed as the speed of the sup port.

3. In a process for producing durably-pleated goods by steps involving the application to a fabric of an aqueous solution of a resinous impregnant capable of xing the pleated effect upon heating the impregnated fabric, pleating the fabric, and heating to set the resin, the method of insuring that the pleats will be fixed in a flat condition which consists in supporting the pleated goods while transferring them from the pleating rolls to a generally horizontal foraminous conveyor, supporting the goods by gravity on the conveyor, and owing heated gas downwardly the pleated goods and the conveyor, the rate of dow of heated gas and the rate of travel of the moving support being such as to insure that the pleated effect is fixed during travel of the goods on the conveyor.

4. in a process for producing durably-pleated goods by steps involving the application to a fabric of an aqueous solution of an impregnant capable of fixing the pleated effect upon heating the impregnated fabric, the method of insuring that the pleats will be fixed in a fiat condition which consists in continuously delivering the pleated goods to and ycontinuously feeding the pleated goods on a conveyor surface with the pleats in folded and substantially iiat condition, heating the impregnated and pleated fabric in said condition on said conveyor sufficiently to fix the pleated effect, and -reeling up the pleated goods on a yreel which rests upon and is driven by periph eral contact with the goods on the conveyor.

5. Apparatus for durably-pleating textile fabrics which comprises, in combination, a step-by-step weft-wise pleating machine having `a delivery apron, an endless foraminous conveyor positioned with its upper run immediately adjacent the delivery end of said delivery apron to -receive pleated goods discharged across said apron, an elongated and enclosed curing oven, through which the endless conveyor moves, means for supporting the upper run `of the endless conveyor in a level plane as it travels through the curing oven, means for admitting heated gas in an upper portion of the curing oven and means for withdrawing gas from a position below the level of the pleated goods, blower means for establishing and maintaining a circulation of gas through the curing oven and means outside the curing `oven for supporting the conveyor and for rolling up the pleated fabric in timed relation to the delivery thereof.

6. Apparatus for durably pleating textile fabrics which comprises, in combination, -a step-by-step weft-wise pleating mach-ine having a delivery apron, an endless foraminous conveyor positioned with its upper run immediately adjacent the delivery end of said delive1y apron to receive pleated goods discharged across said apron, an elongated and enclosed curing oven, through which the endless conveyor moves, means mounted beyond the delivery end of the curing oven over which the endless conveyor passes, and reel means mounted transversely -above the endless conveyor `with freedom for up and down movement with respect thereto in a locus lbeyond but adjacent the delivery end of the curing oven.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNTED STATES PATENTS 1,034,112 Hopkins `Tuly 30, 1912 1,402,584 Elrod Jan. 3, 1922 2,243,396 Schulz May 28, 1941 

